8

Kyoto on tõesti uimane. Kapsulis magamine ilmselt ei aita (ja valgusega üles ärkamine on jaburus...)

Kuidagi ei suuda otsustada, kuhu sammud seada..

Lõpuks otsustasin bussi kasuks.

Kuldne pavilion (Kinkakuji) osutus eesmärgiks. Nii palju turiste. Tokyos ei olnud see nii märgatav.

Järjekorrad, et näha templit, mis oli..kuldne..(aga põnev, et erinevad korrused on erinevad ajastud) Nagu igal pildil. Aga haigur järvel oli kaunis. Ja järv oli kaunis. Ja männid. 

Algkoolilapses ekskursioonil, teevad märkmeid, üks ülesannetest on rääkida turistiga. Ma olin mitmel korral see turist. Ma olen nüüd mitmete jaapani algkoolilaste ekskursiooni piltidel?! (Ja pisike tüdruk andis mulle origaami linnu).

Niiiii palav. Mitu jäätist. Matchamatchamatcha!

Jalutasin end Ryoan-ji budismi templisse, et näha zen aeda. 15 kivi ja palju riisutud kruusa. (Väidetavalt üks kõik, mis nurga alt sa vaatad, näed ainult 14 kivi, 15 ilmub ainult kui sa saad valgustatud..) 

Naljakas, aga oli tõesti.. Zen.. Ja imeilusad kunstiteosed ja mõtted. Kui olla kuskil religioosne, siis ma ilmselt oleks budist. Vblla. 

Seiklused bussides, et jõuda Arashiyamasse. Teised turistid, kellel on veel vähem aimu, mis toimub ja kuhu minna.. 

Arshiyama ja matcha igal nurgal! Nii palju kaunist. Oleks võinud terve päeva veeta seal. Pisikesed poeksed, ja miljonid templid. Ja bambus mets. Ja bambus kohisemas tuules. (Aga endiselt niii palav) 

Endiselt ei tee vahet, kas on tempel või kellegi kodu?!

Bambus!

Imetlesin bambust nii kaua, et jõudsin vaid ühe suurema templi aeda..(ja selleks ajaks ma olin juba ammu unustanud, miks mingi tempel tore ja vajalik oli või isegi et mis nimi oli) (tenryu-ji).

Suur aed. Nii teistsugune kui pargid/aiad Tokyos.. Sidrunipuu. 

Ja järv! Need järved ja pisikesed saarekesed järves on piisav põhjus Jaapanis ära käia.

Buss tagasi kesklinna. Ja aeg elukohta vahetada. Ekstra üli utoopilisest kapsulist ryokani, mis on siis traditsiooniline Kyoto elamu. Okei. Tglt polnud päris, sest need on ülikallid.. Aga traditsiooniline elamine siiski. Tataami matiga ja futon maas ja uks, mis käib küljeti (slidy noh.. Ma ei suuda eestikeeles mõelda..). Onu kelle elamine see oli, st kes oli oma elamise hosteliks pööranud, üritas soovitada söögikohti ja eks ma natuke uurisin ka eriti tobedas naabruskonnas ringi, aga kõik toidukohad olid  suitsetamist lubavad ehk ma jalutasin neist suure kaarega mööda..

Aga see linnaosa oli jura, miks ma kohta vahetasin?! Seal polnud miskit põnevat peale kontorite.. Buu.

--

Kyoto is soo lazy. (Yes, I'm blaming the city and not myself..). Sleeping in a capsule doesn't help, and waking up with a fancy daylight immitating lamp is rubbish, it didn't help me at all..

Anyways, I got going in the end and decided for taking the bus to the Golden Pavilion (Kinkakuji). Soooo many tourist. You literally had to queue to even see it. And well it's golden... Like on every tourist brochure. I mean, it was quite interesting that each level is built as a different architectural era. 

But the lake was nice. And the heron on the lake was nice. And the little islands. And the garden that almost looked golden aswell.

Primary school kids go on trips to these famous landmarks as well.. And they fill in workbooks, and one of the tasks is to tLk to a tourist in English.. Guess what... I was that tourist a few times.. I'm now randomly on some kids primary school trip photos.. (But a little girl gave me an origami crane, so it's alright)

I also accidentally did a fake tea ceremony. In the sense that there was no ceremony... It was just matcha from a bowl with the traditional tea ceremony sweets (that was just..sugar.. But it was golden..but blergh). And I had a long chat with some Indonesian people to whom Japan is like the go-to-holiday because it's so close. They really thought that I should have a photo with my bowl of matcha.. But I do not allow these things..

Matcha is very much the theme of the day anyway. It was boiling today!

Then I walked over to the buddhist temple of Ryoan-ji that is famous for its zen garden. 15 stones and a lot of gravel. (Apparently you can only see 14 stones from any angle, the 15th only becomes visible once you're 'enlightened' ;) ). It was surprisingly calming though. And lots of nice artwork and quotes and thoughts.  I could totally be a buddhist. Probably not, but it's almost a plausible thought. 

Then more bus adventures to get to Arashiyama. Other tourists who were even more clueless than I was.. Sort of comforting I guess.

More matcha. There's never too little matcha. And Arshiyama (which is a district of kyoto) is lovely. With thousands of foody places and tiddly shops and temples by a dozen. And a river and hills. Perfect! And a bamboo forest! And the sound of bamboo in the wind. And the sigt of thousand of bamboo trees shooting up to the sky. I could've probably spent a long time in Arashiyama.. If I had had the time. 

Also more Japanese ladies who really wanted to talk with me with their eight words of english, which was adorable, and somewhat useful (because I really did not have a clue)

Also, still can't tell the difference between a small temple and someone's home..

I spent a long time in the bamboo forest and when I got back I only had time to visit one of the temples, which I guess was alright because by that time my brain couldn't differentiate between the  temples and their importance or even recall their names anymore..(that one was Tenryu-ji).

It had a massive garden. Lots of different plants. A lemon tree.

And a lake. I love the lakes. And the little islands on these lakes. Like the islands and their lakes are a reason enough to visit Japan...

Back to the centre of Kyoto. And time to swap hostels. Have I told you that Kyoto has almost no sidewalks? Most of the time it's a two way road that's probably wide enough for 1,5 cars and then it has a line to separate the pedestrians....

Anyways. From super dystopian capsules to a ryokan (not really, ryokans are realllly expensive..)(a traditional Japanese house converted into a hostel though. With tatami mat and futon and slidy door).

The old man who had converted his house to this hostel tried to introduce me to the wonders of local food, so I did take wander in the neighbourhood.. Alk the suggested food places were smoking-allowed places, so I didn't actually enter any of them because they absolutely reeked. And it was a silly neighbourhood with only office buildings and law firms. Rather sad. 

Sama hästi võiks kodus olla.

7

Kyoto on uimane linn. Päev ei alga tegelikult enne 11. Jube veider, aga ma ka kohe ei jaksanud varakult kuhugi asuda. Teine probleem on ilmselt, et siin on NII paljut, mis on maailma kuulus, et valiku tegemine on jube keeruline (ajaprobleemid, tegelikult)

Esimene täis vihmane päev, mu hostel oli taas tore ja laenas mulle vihmavarju. Leidsin, et jube keeruline on vihmavarju ja kaamerat samal ajal hoida. Ja väiksemas sajus ma panin varju ära ka, aga vahepeal ikka ladistas täiega. Kui vihmane Tokyo tundus just see õige atmosfäär, siis Kyotole vihm ei sobi. 

Suutmata otsustada, mida ms näha tahan, paterdasin lihtsalt mööda tänavaid. Leidsin kassikohviku! Käisin kiisutamas..(sest aega ju jube palju Kyotos....). Jõin kohvi ja matchat igal kolmandal nurgal lootuses, et inspiratsioon tuleb.

Ja see uue ja vana kokkupõrge on siin ikka veel eriti suur ja tähelepandav. Aga samas hoopis teisiti kui Tokyos. Siin on lihtsalt templid igal pool. Kõige kuulsam templi kompleks on keset suurt kaubanduskeskust, näiteks. Ja samas inimesed endidelt elavad vanades majades, millel on uhked puidust väravad ja toriid ja nii nagu ei teagi, et kas see ilus asi seal eemal on mõni pood või tempel või kellegi kodu. Väga veider.

Lõpuks siis läksin üle silla Gioni poole ja ette jäi rongipeatus ja ma mõtlesin, et katsun õnne, et kui ma saan siit lihtsalt Inari Toriide juurde, et siis lähen - ja sa vahi, oligi õige liin! Niiet läksin neid tuhandeid torisid vaatama. Neid on ikka meeletult. Ma ei kujutanud ette, et  päris nii suur hulk. 10,000+ . Kõndisin mäest üles ja üles ja mõtlesin, et nad ei saagi otsa (sest kuskilt läheb see piir, et kui palju neid punasoranže asjandusi sa näha jaksad). Jõudsin siis mingisse puntki, kus oli nagu tempel või midagi ja olin uhke, et sain mäe otsa ronitud.. Ja siis ma nägin kaarti. Ma polnud poolel maalgi veel. Level kaks mingidt kümnest.. Ja siis ma hakkasin alla tagasi laskuma, sest see suurem hulk neid torisid enam poleks vist vaimustanud. 

Aga ma olin miskine personaalfotograaf kõikidele. Ma ei tea, kas see oli kaamera mu kaelas või välimus, mis reedab, et ma ilmselt räägin inglise keelt või  kes teab.. Igatahes valisid mitmed mind välja, et tee meist nüüd pilti piis... Nojah.

Igatahes. Tagasi Gioni. Läksin siis geisha alasse. Ja armusin. See on nii reaalne nagu teeksid reaalset aja rännet. See ala on vaid mingid paar tänavat, aga ma tiirutasin seal jube kaua ringi. See ilmselt aitas kaasa sellele, et ma nägin päris päris mitut päris ja ehtsat maikot (vist oli üks geisha ka). Mul oli nii kahju neist. Nad tahavad vaid teha oma tööd ja teha see vajalik paariminutine jalutuskäik teemajade või takso vahel. Ja inimesed lihtsalt kargavad neile kaela ja jälitavad, et saada seda üht pilti.. Päris õudne oli vaadata. 

Siis ma jalutasin veidi Gioni templite poole (neid on umbes, ma ei tea, 15-20?) aga hakkas juba päris pimedaks minema ja erinevalt Tokyost pole enamus templeid valgustatud. Niiet ma siis läksin tagasi geisha rajooni ja nautisin seda õhtusemat aega. Ja olin kohalike tähelepanu keskpunktis, kus taheti minuga rääkida.. Alates vanematest daamidest, kes uurisid, et kust ma tulen, lõpetades koolipoistega, kes tahtsid inglise keeles kolm sõna rääkida..

--

Kyoto is very much a sleepy city. Nothing is open until 11. Streets are pretty much empty before that. And that's how I felt as well. And the , there's an excess of world famous places to see that it's almost impossible to make a choice. (If I only had the time....)

First full rainy day. It turns out it is extremely difficult to hold the camera and the umbrella at the same time. And, as I said before, the rain in Tokyo creates just the right atmosphere,but rain really doesn't suit Kyoto.

As I couldn't decide where to go, I just wandered the streets aimlessly. Found a cat cafe and everything! Drank coffee and matcha in every third cafe hoping for inspiration. 

But the juxtaposition of old and new is even greater here than in Tokyo. But in a weirdly different way. There are no glass giants here, but you'd find a temple and shrines in the middle of s shopping centre, in between the shops. And not just small shrines, well-known, proper old and important ones. And at the same time people still live in houses that have fancy gates and gardens. And you'll never know walking along the street wether the pretty thing you're taking a photo of is a shop or a temple of someone's home. There's very little English explanation here as well, which makes it even harder.

Finally I crossed the bridge towards Gion and saw a train station, and thought I'll give it a try - if I can get to Inari easily - I'll go. And it was the station with the direct line! So off I went. 

Thousands of toris! THOUSAND! So many of them, I didn't quite imagine there being that many. Apparently 10,000+. I was climbing the hikk thinking they'll never end. Then got to a point after climbing for ages with a big shrine  and though I've finally reached the top of the mountain! Then saw a map. I wasn't even half way up. I was on like level 2 of 10... And then I turned around and decided I've reached the point where no number of these orangered things is going to excite me anymore. And I was bored being everyone's personal photographer person. 

Anyways back to Gion. Went to the Geisha district. Fell in love. It's amazing, it's literally these 4-5 streets that are still stuck in the past. I waswalking these few streets for ages, just admiring everything. Spotted quite a few maikos (and possibly a geisha). And felt so sorry for them. There are crowds of people just hanging around the street corners trying to snap a photo (there's a sign forbididng people of taking selfies...). And when they spot one they literally run towards them and then follow them closely, and it.. Just isn't a pleasant view. Quite sad.. The maikos are just trying to do their job and us, silly tourist, are making it really hard for them just to do that one necessary walk between the teahouses or to/from a taxi.

I wandered towards the temples in Gion (and there are like 15-20?) but it was getting dark already and most temples are not lit during the night.. So I headed back to geisha district to get the last glimpse, and then I was the middle of local's attention, and many people tried to talk to me, from old ladies just wondering where I'm from to schoolboys wanting to practise their English. Bizarre.

6

Hommikune äratus oli ekstreemselt vara, eriti minu jaoks. Astusin hostelist välja kell 6. Mõtlesin, et nii on kõige lihtsam, käin ringi ja vaatan linnakse ära ja saan varakult tagasi Tokyosse minna, et siis edasi teisele poole Mäge liikuda.

Kawaguchiko on paras pauk teistsugust pärast Tokyot. Selline imetilluke linnake, umbes nagu Aberystwyth, ma kujutaks? Ainult, et ta on suht turistiline, sest Fuji on sealsamas ta kõrval. (Ja 5 suurt järve aitavad ka kaasa).

Igatahes, kell 6 hommikul haarasin bensukast kohvi ja saiakese hommikusöögiks ja tatsasin üsna ärksana järve poole. Mitmed inimesed juba ruttasid tööle või kuhugi aga üldiselt oli vaikne.

Järve ääres olid paar munka (või keskit?), kes tegid varahommikust tai-chid (või noh, võis ju olla mingi muu sarnane ka ega ma ei tea).

Istusin järve ääres trepil ja sõin oma hommikust einet. Ja siis muidugi see igavene Jaapani draama - kas mul veab ja kuskil läheduses on prügikasti? (Vedas, oli) (tavaliselt ei vea nii hästi. Igal umbes teisel tänavanurgal on joogiautomaadid, nende juures on tihti plastiku ja purgi prügikastid, aga lihtsalt prügi jaoks on haruharva midagi.. Vist, sest jaapanlaste jaoks on nats tabu tänaval süüa.. Aga kes teab)

Ja siis hakkasin ümber järve tatsama, sest ma tahtsin Musicbox forestisse minna ja kaart nagu näitas, et täpselt vastas peaks olema.. 

 

Siinoohal peaks mainima, et Fuji olukord hommikul oli olematu. Udu oli piisavalt tihe, et lähemal asuvate, palju palju madalamate mäekeste tippusidki polnud näha... Muidugi lootsin, et läheb soojemaks ja päike tuleb välja ja udu haiub veits. (Ei vedanud see kord. Hea, et ma rongiaknast ikka pildi sain..)

Igatahes, jõudsin vastas kaldale ja uurisin, et kuidas ma üles mäenõlvale saan, et sinna musicbox asja minna.. Ja jõudsin järeldusele, et kaarti ma ikka lugeda ei oska ja et see metsake on veel 50minuti kaugusel ümber järve.. Nojah, nii palju aega mul polnud. Kahjuks. Ületasin järve üle suure maantee silla (teisel pool silda ja järve , st seal kuhu ma kõndida ei jõudnud, oli palju ilusam. Tüüpiline) (see teine järve pool tundus pakju vähem turistiline, mis tähendas, et pildil polnud tuhandeid järve äärseid hotelle..)

Jõudsin tagasi hostelisse kella 9 ajal, uurisin kähku bussi ja rongi plaane ja tõttasin minema..

Bussid oli hommikul juba täis.. (Ma endiselt ei mõista), niiet taaskord rongisõit. Seekord sõitsin uhkema rongiga Kawaguchikost minema. Ja see oli niii tore rong - see oli spets mõeldud Fuji vaatlemiseks, niiet tehtid peatusi ja tädi seletas, mis kuskil on ja et nüüd vaadake paremale seal on jõgi ja kui ei oleks udu, siis te näeksite Fujit siit jm. Lisaks nägi rong megavahva ka välja, aga ma unustasin rongipildid tõmmata tahvlisse..

Igatahes. Tagasi Shinjukus ja siis seiklus, et leida, kus see koht on, kus kohver luku taga on.. Ja siis järgmise rongi peale. Järgmine sihtkoht Hakone-Yumoto. 

Sinna jõudes hakkas päris kahju, et ma Kawaguchiko kasuks otsustasin, sest Hakone tundus palju palju põnevam ja ilusam (võinoh, ilmselt oleks pidanud mõlemas tükkmaad kauem aega veetma). Hakone on ka palju suurem, niiet tänaseks oli kavas vaid Väikese Printsi muuseum. Sinna sõitsin loksuvas bussis mööda mägiteid. Vinge!

Mu kaameraku aga hakkas vingerpussi mängima ja läks järsku kolmelt pulgalt ühele, niiet iga klõps oli potentsiaalne viimane. 

Igatahes. väikese Printsi muuseum oli ilmselt kõige vigem muuseum, kus ma kunagi käinud olen! Tähendab... Kahju oli, et enamus kirjeldused olid vaid jaapani keeles, inglise keeles oli vaid lühikesed kokku võtted.. Aga see oli niii geniaalne! Õu oli kõik Prantsusmaa - Exupery kodukant ja nii.. Ja muuseum ise (kus polnud lubatud pilti teha, sorry) oli Exupery elulugu ja vihjed, et mille põhjal mingid elemendid Väikeses Printsis on.. Ja sa jalutasid läbi selle laburündi, mis oli kõik ehitatud temaatiliselt, et ta lapsepõlve tuba ja siis pariisi tänavad 20ndel ja siis postilennuki sisu ja siis new york 30ndatel jne jne.. Imeilus ja tore!

Ja siis tagasi loksuvas bussis. Veider bussi süsteem. Sa maksad kui bussist väljud (et vastavalt mis vahemaa sa sõitsid).. Ilmselt et ära hoida, et inimesed ütlevad, et sõidan kolm peatust ja tegelikult sõidavad liini lõppu?

Igatahes. Kaamera aku ütles üles kui ma muuseumist välja astusin.. Vähemalt pidas nii kaua vastu.

Järgmine rongisõit (6 rongi ühes päevas - jeekim) oli shinkansen! Jehuuu! Maksin hästi mitu raha ja ronisin platvormile. Üks kimas mööda.. Ma ei jõudnud telefoni avadagi, et pilti teha kui see oli juba läinud.

Igatahes. Sõitsin Nagayosse ja siis istusin ümber järgmisele shinkansenile Kytosse. 

Uskumatud asjad ikka küll.. Veidi ebamugav on see sõit, kõrvad on pidevalt lukus ja pea hakkab ringi käima, aga eks see kiirematel hetkedel 300 km/tunnis on seda väärt ehk ma jõudsin Kyotosse 3,5 tunniga ( nii umbes 600km, ja ümber istumine)

Ja Kyotosse jõudes olin ma nii surmväsinud, et otsisin ruttu oma hosteli üles - kapsulid! Täiega sürr ja utoopiline ja nagu mingine sci-fi film.

--

Morning started extremely early, specially considering it's me, but I thought that would be the only way to actually see anything at Kawaguchiko and get to The other side of the Mountain at a sensible time and whatnot. So I left my hostel at 6am. 

Kawaguchiko is such a culture shock after Tokyo. It seems like this dead end kind of town where people come and then stay because it's 'sort of convenient'. I mean it's relatively touristy with being literally next to Mt Fuji, and 5 huge lakes don't hurt the tourism either.

Anyways, I grabbed a breakfast (oh no, it's becoming an habit?!) from a petrol station and headed towards the lake.

I saw a few people on my way, and people greeted me (is this a thing morning people do?!) but when I got to the lake it was silent and empty except some monks (probably) doing early morning tai-chi (or other martial arty-yoga-thingymebob). So I had my breakfast on some steps, hoping that I'd be lucky and there's actually a bin somewhere around (there's the thing - every second street corner has a drinks vending machine, and there are often can and plastic recycling bins next to them, but normal rubbish bins are extremely hard to find.. Possibly because it is slightly frowned upon in Japan to eat on the street/while walking?). Anyways. There was a bin. Yay!

I started walking to the otherside on the lake because I sort of wanted to bead into the Music Box Forest and it seemed that it was just across, and up somewhere..

Oh, yes. Fuji. Dreams lf getting magical early morning photos of Mt Fuji from across the lake were shattered. There was so much fog! You couldn't even see the shape of it, but I still hoped that it'd get warmer and sunnier and the fog would lift a bit (it didn't). Glad I snapped the photo yesterday from the train window.

Anyways. Got to the otherside from where I was before and realised I can't read maps.. And that it was at least another 50 minutes to the music box forest that was even further up the lake..well. I didn't have  that time. So I crossed the lake on an highway bridge in the middle. (It was much nicer on the other side, where i didn't have time to go....) and headed back to hostel to check out and head back to Shinjuku.

The buses were already sold out (what? Where were all these people? What size are those buses? What?). So I had to take the train back. And it was lovely. i upgraded to a  fancier train (it was only ¥200 more.. That's like £3) and it was like a special tourist, sightseeing train for viewing mt fuji. So they made stops and the lady on the train pointed out waterfalls and things on the side of the tracks and points where you could 'usually' spot Mt Fuji and such. And the train itself was a funky design as well.. With seats in the round and side ways and every seat with a different pattern (I was silly and didn't import any of the train photos though).

Anyways. 

A shirt adventure back in Shinjuku trying to find where the lockers were in the huge station. And then onto the next train tooo Hakone-Yumoto. (And weird train food. Who would've thought that sweet potato mochi is that yummy?)

Anyways. Once in Hakone, I felt a bit dissappointed that I didn't stay overnight there. It looked really lovely and beautiful! It is also much bigger than Kawaguchiko. And well in reality one should spend much longer in both towns probably...Anyways, the only thing in my Hakone itinerary was the Little Prince Museum. Had to take a bus to the top of a very windy hill, and it was amazing.just green all around, and then waterfalls and straight drops down, and it was all very picturesque!

And The Little Prince Museum is probably the nicest museum I've ever been to. Outside gardens are inspired by the French homes of Exupery ( they've actually built the streets). And the inside museum is the story of his life and drew parallels where things in his life have inspired things in The Little Prince. But it's all like a labyrinth  that you walk through and the scenography of it all is amazing. Like the walls have pretend torn off posters from paris in the 20s, and then you walm through an airmail plane and then you see Exupery's office in New York in the 30s, and then there's desert and starcloth and stuff. It was beautiful and really well designed! ( sadly photography wasn't allowed inside) It was a shame though that it was all in Japanese - there was only a rather brief description in English..

Anyways, just as I got out from the museum, my camera battery died.. (It was playing up.. A bit worrying really)

And the bus journey back to Hakone station. And then another train journey (6 alltogether today!). This time the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto! Paid lots of monies, was a bit confused which one I actually needed to take (and for once there was no station staff around?!) but managed to find the right platform. Just before my train arrived, another one hurrled past at mega speed. I didn't even have time to take out my phone and it was gone.

So I took a shinkansen to Nagoya and then to Kyoto. Crazy things. A bit uncomfortable.. My ears kept poping and I felt a bit queesy but I guess travelling up to 300km/h is no joke ( that's about 220m/h apparently...) So I was in Kyoto in about 3,5h (that's about 600km, and I didn't take the fastest shinkansen...)

And by the time I got to Kyoto I was soooo tired, so I hurried to my hostel.. No - CAPSULE! And it is surreal. Like, literally something out of a sci-fi.

5

Viimane pool päeva Tokyos.

Lahkusin hostelist vara, et ringi vaadata veel ruttu ja raha vahetada ja hommikust süüa, vahelduseks. 

Ja opaaa - vihmasadu! Vihma hooaeg peaks niikuinii olema, siiani olen pääsenud, aga pean ütlema, et jube kaunis oli. Ja noh, hommik oli ju ka.. Nii 8 aegu...

Sain rahad vahetatud ja 'mängult' jaapani hommikusööki ja selleks ajaks kui ma söödud sain, oli vihm ma järele jäänud. Nii palju siis sellest. Jalutasin tagasi templi kaudu ja mõtlesin, et tegelikult peaks ikka tükkmaad kauem olema Tokyos kui vaid 4,5 päeva, et selle ajaga näeb need turistikad 'must see' asjad ära, aga tegelikuks avastamiseks pole aega.

Igatahes, checkisin end outi. Jagasin noortele receptionis briti šokolaadi ja kimasin Kabuki teatri poole. (Idikas nagu ma olen, et enne selleni ei jõudnud..). Mõtlesin, et eh mis seal ikka, jään nats hiljaks 10:30 pileti müügi ajaks, et kes see ikka vihmas viitsib teatris käia, aga no neh.. Ma jõudsin sinna 10:45, hommikune etendus oli välja müüdud ja inimesed olid järjekorras järgmise pileti müügi alguseks. Ronisin ka sappa, ise mõeldes, et pekki, see ajastus nüüd küll suurepärane pole, aga ok, tuleb ära näha. Sain seisukoha pileti, aga nüüd oli aega kella 1ni. Mõtlesin, et panen pagasi hoidu ja jõuan äkki kassikohvikussegi aga noneh, vaevu jõudsin Shinjuku jaama, lukukapikestega jaurata, 'skandinaavia pagarist' saiakase haarat ja tagasi Ginzasse minna etendusele.

Etendus oli maruäge! Mitte midagi ei saanud aru, aga niii äge ja teistsugune! 

Õnneks (ajaliselt) ja kahjuks (elamuseliselt) kestis see vaatus vaid 30 minutit, niiet ma sain joosta ruttu tagasi Shinjukusse.

Kus ma otsisin bussijaama kaks sajandit, et siis teada saada, et piletid on otsas tänaseks. Njamh. Egas midagis, tuleb kulutada 3x rohkem ja minna rongiga (kui ma lõpuks Kawaguchikosse jõudsin, siis küll mõtlesin, et kus need tuhanded inimesed kõik on, et buss, mis käib iga poole tunni tagant on välja müüdud... Who knows..) (ja kõigepealt tegeldasin veel vana tädiga reisi-infos, kes üritas mulle maha müüa terve jaapani loode ranniku turistipassi ja rääkis, mis kõik kaunis seal on ja kuidas saab metsas jalutada (kaamera oli mul kaelas ja ainult seljakott onju..) aga Jah, tädi, võibolla järgmine kord..)

Rongisõit oli ok. Ilusad vaated! Nägin ära Mäe, aga lõpuks kui Kawaguchikosse jõudsin oli juba täitsa pime.. Kohe aru saada, mis linnavalgus teeb tegeliku valgustajuga.

Käisin söömas tempura restoranis, mis oli IMELINE. Milleks on roheline paprika hea? - tempuras friteerimiseks! Ohsapoiss. Ja imelikud seenedki kõlbasid süüa tempuratatult. 

Ja siis oli aeg imekenasse hostelisse üheks ööks tukkuma minna.. 

--

Last half day in Tokyo.

Wandered out of my hostel relatively early, to have the last look around, exchange some cash and eat breakfast (I felt fancy, alright)

And Boom - the rainy season had kicked in! And it was pouring down! But it was lovely. Really, really lovely.. And relatively quiet (it was around 8am). Peaceful, and the reflection of everything on the puddles, and the sound of raindrops on the umbrella, and...

Anyways. Had some fake Japanese breakfast with way too many drinks - water (they insist of filling your glass of water after you've taken like 3 sips) and then you get a juice with the breakfast and well I wanted a coffee (without knowing about the other two drinks), and then I sat there waiting for my breakfast and wondering which glass I should drink out of..

I still don't quite approve meat for breakfast but a slice of bacon came with it, and I ate it, and it was the best slice of bacon I've ever tasted..

By the time I had finished eating, the rain had also stopped. I had a perusal around the tempel and shrine area before heading back to hostel to check out. And then I felt the sadness of leaving Tokyo so soon. 4,5 days is just about enough time to get ticks behind every 'must see' touristy thing, but definitely not enough time to actually...explore..

Anyways, checked out, gave the reception people some Maltesers and they were super happy and insisted a picture with me and Maltesers to go on their facebook page.. 

Run to Ginza to go and see a kabuki play in the massice Kabukiza playhouse foolishly thinking that I can get away with arriving 15 minutes after the sales for the first act have started. Fool! By the time I got there, act I was  sold out, and people were queing for the beginning of the next sale (which wasn't meant to start until 45 minutes later), so I got in line (a bit dissappointed in myself, all my timings for the day would be thrown off) and got a ticket for the second act. 

Then thought, I'll have enough time to get to Shinjuku, but luggage in locker, find a cat cafe+eat, and get back. But nope. Had just enough time to drop my luggage off at Shinjuku Station, grab a pastry from a questionable Scandinavian bakery and head back to Ginza. 

Anyways. The play was amazing! It's nice to know that sliders DO work some times! Really odd as well, and I obvs didn't understand a thing but it was AMAZING! Definitely was worth it!

Thankfully (timing-wise) and sadly ( emotionally) this act only lasted 30 minutes.

It did mean that I could shoot off back to Shinjuku to get a bus to Kawaguchiko, or so I thought.

I spent ages trying to find the bus station, and when I did finally find it (who puts ticket sales on 4th floor of a bus station?! And not as the first thing when you enter), they told me it had sold out for the day. Great. Well. Train at 3x higher rate it is then..(the travel information old lady tried to convince me to take a tour of like the whole north-west coast.. Apparantley it's very nice...I'm sure it is old lady, I'm sure it is...)

Anyways. Train journey was rather pleasant with some amazing views! Caught a glimpse of the Mountain, but arrived at Kawaguchiko in complete darkness. That's what  light pollution in big city does to your brain, I thought that it should still be completely light at 8pm..

Also wondered where the helll all these bus fulls of people were.. There were literally no people on the streets. NONE. I find it hard to believe that none of  the buses that run every half hour from Tokyo couldn't have fitted an Edith on. But hey. 

Anyways, grabbed some tempura for dinner. Which was amazing! Even the weird Japanese mushrooms were edible when fried in tempura batter! 

And then sleeps for one night  in the really fancy-looking hostel.

(On a side note - the ambulance here makes the exact noise that is usually used as airraid SFX. It was rather confusing the first few times)

4

Esimese asjana tuli minna Shinyukusse, et eile nägemata jäänud aed ära näha! 

Tasuta sissepääs - jeee!

Ja ohsa püha püss. Nii ilus ja hea ja maagiline!

Tiigiksed ja kivid ja väikesed templid-asjad ja puud ja lilled ja erinevad aiad. Prantsuse roosiaed ja Inglise park ja Jaapani aed.

Ma ei oska seda heaolu tunnet kirjeldada. 

Jalutades metroo poole sattusin ühte hiiglaslikku kunstipoodi, kus muidugi pidi aega veetma.. (Mitte et ma kunsti teeks kunagi....)

Siis Harajuku, sest noh, põnev - onju?! Ei olnud.

Ma ei tea, kas ajastus oli kehv või ma ei leidnud neid õigeid ja põnevaid tänavaid, mida uurida, aga kõik, mis ma nägin olid need samad suurlinna fancyd poed, mida leiab ükskõik millises suurlinnas.. Bleh..

Läksin pettunult Tokyo Keisrilossi poole, ahastusega, et ilmselt juba kohe ka suletakse..

Ja nii oli.. Aga ega ta väga tore ka polnud, vähemalt pärsst gyoeni aeda.. Kui ma oleks keiser, siis ma oleks küll nats pettunud..

Aga terve päeva imetlesin seda vana ja uue kokkupõrget ja looduse ja tehisliku ja suure ja väikese. Muudkui põrkavad siin..

Imeilusate suurte puude tagant pargis paistavad pilvelõhkujad.

Vana keisripalee osade taustaks on taas klaasist ja tsemendist kõrghooned.

Naljakas.

Ja ikka otsin neid õigeid mustreid, mida ma nagu ei suuda tabada neis kõrgeis..

Ja siis Tokyo station. Köögitänav (küll om raske kui ei söö kalalisi) ja multikapoe tänav. Rahakott sai kergemaks.

Varajane õhtu.

--

First spot of the day was obviously the Gyoeni Gardens that I missed yesterday.

And they had free entry day - woop!

And it was magical!

Little ponds and bonsai trees and other trees, and different gardens - French rose garden and English park landscaping (that was a bit boring, but hey..) and a Japanese garden. And tall trees, and so much "komorebi" (which is my favourite Japanese word btw)

I van't do the garden justice with my words, you'd have to be a poet or something.

Next stop - Harajuku, because it's meant to be, you know, really hip and exciting. It wasn't. I mean, I probably felt the time constraints and didn't take the right turnings onto the right streets but all I could see were wellknown shops you can find in anyother big city in the world.

Anyways, a bit dissappointed I rushed towards the Tokyo Imperial Palace and its gardens, thinking that they'll probably be closing soon (I'm learning from my mistakes and all such) and they were.

But no worries, it wasn't great either, well at least after Gyoen's garden in the morning.. If I were the emporer I would tell the landscape artist's off.

But, what I've found interesting, and it kept coming up today was the juxtaposition of old and new, natural and manmade, small and tall.

Like how there are big great lovely trees in the park and in the background you have skyscrapers.

Or the background for the old imperial palace buildings is more giants of the glass and concrete type.

Weird. Interesting.

And I'm still chasing the patterns in tall buildinsg that I know exist and I just don't seem to be able to capture..

Final stop was Tokyo station. Foodstreet (it's really hard not liking seafood.. Suddenly, there are no options) and some cartoon character shops. My wallet definitely felt lighter by the end of today.

But - early night (ish)

3

 Hommikul suundusin Shibuya poole, et kuulsat ristmiku näha.

Tee peal põrkasin kokku šveitsi/iiri tüdrukuga, kellega saime koheselt sõpradeks, sest me kumbki ei teadnud, mis me teeme. Jutustasime ja jõime hommikukohvi ja siis läksime eri suundades.. Vahetasime kontakt andmeid ka, aga kes teab, kas kunagi üksteisele kirjutamiseni ka jõuab..

Nägin kuulsat ristmiku. Ei olnud väga tiheda liiklusega, veel. Tööpäev jm.

Tatsasin natuke ringi erinevatel Shibuya tänavatel. Leidsin 5-korruselise MUJI poe ja tahtsin sisse kolida. 

Ja siis jõudsin järeldusele, et tuleb neid teisi kuulsaid kohti ka külastada. Läksin siis yoyobi pargi ja mei-ji templi poole. 

Ideaalselt geniaalne orienteerumisoskus lükkas end käima - kellel neid kaarte ikka vaja on kui sisetunne ütleb, et tuleb minna sinna suunas ja nii ongi tavaliselt.

Pargitasin nats.. Leidsin sisse käigu mei-ji templisse, hiiiiigel suurte Toriidega. Tundsin end nagu mõnes Studi Ghibli filmis.

Siis jalutasin Shinjuku poole (endiselt, kellel neid kaarte ikka vaja on?) et gyoeni aeda minna, aga siis kui ma sinna jõudsin, oli see juba kinni, deeeem.. Tatsasin nats Shinjukus ringi, sõin (tuli meelde...) nuudleid, mida oli hirmus palju ja siis metrotasin tagasi Shibuyasse, et õhtuseid suuri reklaamvalguseid näha.. Nägin! Ja rahvast oli umbes kakskümmend korda rohkem kui päeval - appii!

Ruttasin minema, Ruppongi Hillsi poole, sest mu 8-aastane mina ei saanud jätta Sailor Mooni näitusel käimata. (Lisaks järgmine kõrge torn, kust alla vaadata). 

Ja siis oli kell mingine 23, kerged 15km maha käidud ja aeg oli pea padjale seada.

--

Morning started with trying to find my way to the famous Shibuya crossing (first fighting the metro ticket machines).

On my way I met a Swiss/Irish girl, and we immediately became best friends for life and decided to have morning coffee together. Talked about many a thing, and then departed our separate ways, and we'll probably never hear from each other again, ever.

Morning traffic on the big & famous Shibuya crossing isn't that impressive.. A bit, but you know.. Meh. I guess it was a working day and everything. I was more taken away by the HUGE buildings and ads (is billboard an american word? Is that what they are?)

Wandered along some of the streets, and found the enormous MUJI store that spans across 5-floors.

I still wonder how I made it out of there alive.

Then made my way toward yoyoba Park & the Meiji Shrine. Really proud of my amazing skill of orientation a who needs maps anyway?

Walked in the park for a bit, mused myself with watching a weird DJ-painter in action, and then headed toward the shrine. Behind the massive Toriis there's a forest path leading up to the shrine - made me feel like I was in Studio Ghibli movie.

Then onward towards to Shinjuku (still, who needs maps? The direction I usually choose is right anyway) with the intention of visiting the Gyoen gardens but the time I got there they were closed already.

So wandered around Shinjuku (a bit lost now), ate (I remembered!) and then found the safety of a metro station to get back to Shibuya to see the lit up version of the crossing.

Quite impressive. Also there were like trillions more people there now - hjelp!

Onwards to Ruppongi Hills, because my 8-year-old shelf could not not visit the Sailor Moon exhibition (and a chance to peruse over the city from another observation deck)

And then it was suddenly like 11pm, and I had walked more than 15km, and I really needed my bed.

1+2

Amsterdami lennujaam on stereotüüpiliselt madalmaalik. Ainsad poed on juust ja tulp.

10-tunnised lennud pole mu lemmikud. Mu filmivaatamismasin läks rikki...(aga ma ju tahtsin uut StarWarsi vaadata......). Lisaks oli mul geniaalne akna iste ilma aknata.. Bleh. Aga Söök oli vinge! 

Ja ajaränne ilmselgelt ei istu mulle.. 6 tundi vahele jätta oma elust ja siis Tokyotada pole ilus.

Yen on nii veider.. Kuidas saab nii, et 500yen on münt? Mingine., mitu raha ju. (Tglt ei ole väga..). Ja siis muidugi 1yen on ka umbes samasugune münt.. Nojah..

Käisin maailma kõrgeima teletorni otsas.

Vaatasin Tokyo vanimat templit.

Sõin õhtust muumidega.

Umbes võtab kokku päevad 1&2.

---

Schipol airport is stereotypically netherlandish - full of shops for cheese & tulips.

I must say - I'm definitely not a fan of 10hour flights. And my movie machine broke half way through (and I really wanted to watch the new StarWars...). Plus I had a silly window seat without a window - great.. At least the food was good though.

Also, time travel doesn't suit me, skipping something like 6 hours of my life and then trying to be useful in Tokyo wasn't very nice..

Japanese Yen is a weird currency. Why in the world is the ¥500 a coin?! And then, like, ¥1 is rather similar looking coin?! 

Othrr than that.

"Climbed" on top of the largest tower in the world. (As in. Used a lift that went up at 600m/s)

Looked at the oldest temple in Tokyo.

Ate dinner with moomins. (Spent half a say trying to find the place to have dinner with moomins..)

That oretty much sums up days 1+2.